Admittance
by Luck Laden Lefty
Summary: Pantherlilly struggles to admit to Happy that he is attracted to him, so Gajeel feels inclined to help him out.


Admittance

A pair of red eyes stared intently across the room; their gaze fixated so intently on a single point that one would think the irises would burn holes through any solid surface in their field of vision. They stared with a gaze so potent and focused that to a passerby, he would've looked like a predator with its sights on a wounded animal. He thought he had been discreet with voyeurism however. He had purposefully stationed himself at the back of the guild hall, in a corner with the least traffic, as to openly vet his fellow exceed without incriminating himself. That's why when he felt a light tap on his shoulder; he nearly had a heart attack.

"Why're you starin' at Happy like that?" Came a slightly muffled question from none other than Gajeel, who was currently feeding bolt after bolt of iron screws into his mouth.

"I w-wasn't staring at Happy," his partner stammered, knowing how painfully pious his retort sounded after it left his throat. The dragon slayer didn't seem to hear him however; either that or he didn't believe the cursory reply. Instead he tipped his head back; polishing off the last of the various nuts, bolts and iron fragments he'd been carrying on his tray and giving a rather uncouth belch before addressing his partner.

"You totally were I've been watching you for like the past forty five minutes."

"Seriously!?" The cat asks dumbfounded, incredulousness written plainly across his facial features.

"Yeah, I came in here to get a snack and give Salamander some hell and I noticed you all the way over here givin' his cat one hell of a stare down. What's the deal?"

"Don't worry about it Gajeel" the feline breathes dismissively, taking on a cross legged sitting position.

"He didn't pick a fight with you did he?" The dragon slayer snarls, his teeth barred at the blue cat across the room.

"Why would Happy pick a fight with me Gajeel? I have no qualms with anyone in this guild especially the other exceeds. Besides, I was a trained royal guard and I'm one of the few exceeds with a battle form, do you honestly think Happy would want to start a fight with me?"

"Well what's the deal then? Y'know most normal people don't stare someone like they've got a crush…" The dragon slayer's sentence cuts off midway and his quizzical expression gives way to a snarky grin; his feline companion stares up at him in horror.

"It isn't what you think Gajeel!" Lilly's face goes from a placid calmness to a look of alarm in no time flat. He tries once again to abate his guild mate's rousing suspicions, but the attempt falls flat on its face when the iron dragon slayer notices the desperation in his partner's voice.

"You've totally got the hot's for Salamander's cat don't you?" Gajeel grins toothily.

"Absolutely not!" Lilly glowered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Riiight sure you don't" Gajeel smarmed. "And I suppose you weren't just checking him out for forty five minutes?"

"Disgusting," Lilly grumbled, his back turned to Gajeel indignantly.

"Alright then lover boy, what exactly were you staring at?" Lilly's heartbeat quickened. He still kept his back defiantly toward Gajeel, but he surreptitiously creaked open an eye, looking for anything he could use an excuse for his blatant voyeurism. He chances a glance in the direction he'd spent the better part of an hour staring at and at the table sitting right next to Happy he sees Carla.

"If you must know I was marveling at Carla's beauty," the exceed retorts, looking smug now that he'd found a beard to cover his tracks. Gajeel says nothing. Instead the dragon slayer crouches down so that he is eye level with Lilly. He focuses his hard, steely gaze in the direction that Lilly had been staring, being unnaturally quiet for someone who is known for his loud, boorish nature.

He doesn't say anything for quite some time, his eyes focused solely in the direction of the other exceeds. Lilly hopes that Gajeel will believe his hasty ploy, he didn't even fully understand these feelings himself, and he felt that if he could just forget about the blue exceed and move on that it would be better for both of them in the long run; but he couldn't help it. Every time he and Happy were in the same room let alone on the same team, it seemed to be all he could think about. He's so wrapped up in his thoughts however that he doesn't even notice his partner stand up and stretch until he hears the dragon slayer begin speaking again.

"I don't believe you for a second" the studded boy's face is an unreadable mask of blankness as he stares at his cat, unblinking; and in the wake of his partner's nonplussed silence he offers the stunned feline a question.

"So when are you gonna tell him?" He asks, a pinky swabbing his ear. Lily seems to break out of his incredulous state at this, his fur bristling some.

"I already told you I wasn't staring at Happy!" The exceed yells a little louder than he'd meant to, earning some odd looks from those in the immediate vicinity. His partner merely groans at his response, finger still lodged in his ear.

"If you ain't gonna tell him, then I will" the dragon slayer responds and within seconds is out of earshot and making his way toward the table where Happy and Carla were currently seated. Lilly's heart dropped into his stomach. If either one of the other two exceeds in Fairy Tail was to find out about his crush it would devastate him. Not only that but he was deathly afraid that the guild would ostracize him because of his affections, leaving him to fend for himself again, and he would do anything to prevent that. So he takes off after the dragon slayer hoping to halt the studded teen's progress and reason with him.

"Gajeel please don't do this!" Lilly begs, finally catching up with brazen partner. Gajeel doesn't turn to look at the feline floating next to his head, but addresses him none the less.

"Look if you're gonna be too much of a wuss to go and talk to your crush then I'll tell him for ya."

"No please Gajeel, he can't know, no one can know!"

"Why not? What's the point of being in love with someone if you can't even talk to them about it?"

"It's just a silly crush Gajeel it doesn't mean anything!"

Gajeel finally stops, turning to stare at his cat with blithesome annoyance "Well what is he to you then?"

Lilly flinches, unprepared for his partner's scathing inquiry, but his surprise only lasts a moment. "He's a friend, a guild mate and a fellow exceed.

"So why can't he be a lover too?"

"Because two males can't be in love, that's why!"

"Well why not?"

"Because it's wrong!"

What're you talkin' about? I don't see a law that says two guys can't be in love with each other, quit with the self-deprecation already." A vein in Lilly's forehead pulsed.

"Dammit Gajeel why are you being so inanely persistent!?"

"Because if he's what makes you Happy then I won't let you sit idly by while someone else comes along and sweeps him off his feet." For the second time since their little spat, the exceed was rendered at a loss for words. He hadn't expected Gajeel's intentions to be so pure; he thought his partner was simply being a pest for the sake of being a pest. But a part of Lilly still wasn't satisfied with having everyone know that he swung the way he did. That's why when Gajeel yet again made a break for the table across the guild hall, Lilly was quick to get between him.

"Don't you think it should be up to me who I profess my feelings to?!" The feline growled in his partner's face, paws at his hips.

"Yeah but if I left it up to you you'd spend your entire life oogling." Gajeel grinned, making Lilly's anger seethe. But his fury quickly turns to shock as his partner begins to again make his way toward the table. Lilly doesn't bother with reason this time; instead he flies in his partner's path and attempts to somehow stymie the ponderous beast with sheer force, but his effort seemed to be for naught as he is nothing but a fly to the two hundred pound behemoth. Just then an idea popped into his head, and he figured that if he could not physically stop his partner, then bribery was the next best option.

"I'll let you eat my sword" Lilly groaned, still pushing as hard as he could against the seemingly immovable object. Lilly knew that ever since he lifted his new sword off of that random Grimoire Heart member that Gajeel had been keen on the idea of eating it, but his promised pittance seemed of little interest to the dragon slayer now as he quickly advanced the length of the room. If Lilly didn't find a way to stop him he would never be able to show his face around the guild hall again. He considered morphing into his battle form, but he realized that it would draw too much attention to them, so he continues to push valiantly against the wall of muscle, knowing that his attempts are laughable at best.

At this point as the giant lumbering teen was only about five steps away from the table that seated his crush and the future queen of the exceeds. By now their petty squabble had garnered the attention of over half the guild hall, Happy and Carla included; if Gajeel got to that table it was over for sure. And with the literal wall of flesh in front of him showing no signs of slowing, Lilly surmised he had no option left but to give in and admit his affections to the little blue feline.

"Alright fine!" the feline concedes to the mulishly stubborn teen, still attempting to halt the dragon slayer's advance despite his surrender. "I'll tell him!" Gajeel finally stops, grinning jovially down at his friend.

"Atta' boy!" the dragon slayer cheers, grabbing his friend with one arm and giving him a playful noogie with the other. The feline could already feel the apprehension aggregating in his gut just seconds after he conceded. He wiggled himself free of his partner's grip, turning to face the two other exceeds, reticence taking over his features.

"What are you two up to Gajeel?" Carla asks, her usual skepticism a welcoming change for the black cat creature. He was thankful that she didn't know him as well as Gajeel did, but it did little to appease his apprehension.

"Lilly has something he wants to say to Happy" Gajeel states, Lilly shoots him a trying glare before turning speaking to the other two exceeds.

"Can I talk to you in private Happy?" His voice is noticeably more timid and hushed than it usually is and Happy is immediately concerned.

"I didn't do something wrong did I?" The frightened lilt of Happy's voice tugs at Lilly's heartstrings, but when he turns to face the pair his face is as calm and collected as ever.

"No, I just need to talk to you is all." Lilly concludes, turning to show Gajeel his look of dread and mounting unease. Gajeel gives him a smile and a thumbs up, Lilly gulps and makes his way toward the door.

"OK…" Happy still sounds apprehensive, but takes to the air non-the-less and follows his fellow guild mate out the door and around the guild hall to the tree resting resolutely behind it. Both exceeds land near the large tree, the air around them thick with tension. Lilly's back is to the other exceed and Happy can't help but feel uneasy. He still didn't know why Lilly had wanted to talk to him, but from the way he and Gajeel were bickering earlier, he figured it had to be something serious. His string of thoughts is effectively smothered when the exceed in question begins speaking.

"It's funny" he starts, his back still to the blue exceed. "I never thought I'd work up the nerve to admit this to anyone, least of all you. Gajeel sure has a way of forcing people's hands." He chuckled, but the noise sounded so forced and hollow that it did nothing to ease the choking tension in the air.

"Admit what?" Happy asks, taking a cautious step toward the other exceed, but stopping in his tracks when he hears Lilly exhale a breath; a breath so shaky and laden with nervousness that he can hear it from where he's standing.

"I like you." The proclamation was so simple and rudimentary that Happy's somewhat petulant mind mistakes it for something entirely platonic.

"I like you too" Happy exclaims, hoping to raise his downtrodden friend's spirits. "So does everyone else in the guild. We don't care that you're not originally from earth land." Happy hoped that after his bout of reassurance that Lilly would cheer up somewhat, but when he hears a second drawn out sigh from his friend; he knows that his attempt had fallen flat.

"That's not what I meant Happy…" his tone is as feeble as it was before, and it made Happy just as uneasy the second time. But confusion comes in tandem with his unease.

"Then what do you mean? I'm confused." There was a long, pregnant silence before Lilly felt comfortable enough to reply, and even then it was a chore for him to merely articulate with how shaken up he was.

"I like you…like…you like Carla…" He narrowly avoids stuttering, saying every word so carefully and deliberately that it sounded as though he were speaking to a child. Happy finally understands though; he thinks back to the first time he met Carla and everything finally clicks into place. He remembers how every time he was even near her his stomach felt like doing flips and he could barely formulate a coherent sentence. Then he looked to the exceed standing a mere five paces away, exhibiting more-or-less the same symptoms.

"So…you love me…?" Happy questions, receiving a nod of confirmation from his friend.

"Lilly…" Happy breathes, in a state of profound incredulousness, unable to summon any other words to describe the shock he feels. But his sense of sight stays perfectly untouched by the gravity of his friend's decleration and he notices the other exceed visibly shivering.

"I understand if you hate me" the black exceed's voice is on the verge of breaking now and all the fronting and false bravado in the world couldn't have masked the hurt in his voice. "I'll understand if the guild hates me." There is a long pause while the exceed sucks in a shuddering breath. "I just..." He doesn't hear Happy approach him but he feels a pair of paws wrap around his midsection and a head nuzzle his back. It's so sudden that he gasps involuntarily, but Happy keeps a firm hold on him.

"Stupid…" The blue exceed mutters, but the sound is muffled due to his head being pressed so firmly against Lilly's back. "I would never hate you for something so silly." Happy feels the other feline shudder, but doesn't bring it up; he simply embraces his friend as tightly as possible, determined to let the black exceed know that he was not alone-he was not hated. Lilly maneuvers so that he is face to face with his friend, no longer able to hide his tear-stained fur and his shaken composure. Happy gives him the most encouraging smile he can muster under the circumstances and Lilly returns the embrace, full force.

"So you don't hate me then?" Lilly asks, his speech still strained and jittery.

"Of course not" Happy replies simply, not bothering to break the contact between them. Lilly doesn't respond verbally to this; the only response Happy receives is a succession of broken sobs as Lilly finally lets himself break down, sobbing earnestly into his friend's shoulder. Happy doesn't stop him, he simply lets the other exceed purge himself of all of the doubt and fear he'd let build up inside of him over the course of the day; and when the black exceed finally composes himself enough to speak properly again, he doesn't hesitate to ask another question.

"Happy" he starts awkwardly, his eyes shifting everywhere except to his friend's expectant gaze. "Now that I've come this far, I need to know; what do you think of me…of us?" He finally builds the courage to glance into his friend's eyes, his breathing is noticeably more reserved. Happy looks contemplative for a moment before giving the most honest answer he can.

"I don't know…" he trails off, his gaze breaking away from Lilly's this time, a blush painting his cheeks. "I never thought about you that way before." He notices Lilly's face fall slightly out of the corner of his eye, and his next sentence comes out without any forethought.

"But I'd be willing to try, if it made you Happy" the blush tainting his cheeks darkens considerably. Suddenly, he feels a pair of paws grip his shoulders firmly, causing his gaze to snap back up to Lilly's, only to be met with the fiercely intent look the other was throwing his way.

"It wouldn't make me Happy to know that you were lying to me or yourself. I would understand if you weren't comfortable with the prospect of us being together-"he is cut off by the other once again embracing him tightly.

"I said I was willing to try didn't I?" Lilly could offer no verbal retort to this; he merely reciprocated the embrace with as much verve as his friend. He could feel his heart beating with pangs of pure joy as he stood there with his fellow exceed, locked in a passionate embrace. He felt the tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he realized that right in that instance he had everything he could ever want. He was perfectly copacetic. But something came to his mind that he felt the need to vocalize, effectively ruining the serenity of the moment.

"What about the guild?" Happy tilts his head to look at Lilly, a curious look about him.

"What about them?"

"You aren't afraid of what they'll think?" Happy smiles at this, to which Lilly raises a brow, confused.

"They're our family Lilly. Fairy Tail doesn't turn their back on family."

"I suppose that's true" Lilly confirmed, easing into the hug the two shared before yet another question prodded at his mind. This particular inquiry tinged his heart with pain. He had been so caught up with how this situation affected him and Happy that he hadn't taken the time to think about how it was affecting anyone else.

"What about Carla?" Happy's eyes were once again brought back to meet his at the mention of Carla. He realized that the entire time he'd been with Lilly he hadn't thought about her once; the thought scared him as much as it was liberating. Before all of this happened he had had a real, tangible affection for the white feline. But even though his love for her was strong at first, her constant placation of his advances and rejection of his feelings had worn his lust for her down to a mere acquaintanceship. And at that moment, he realized that he had potentially found something better. He wouldn't write her off for good however. But if she wanted a shot at getting with him now she would have to wait and see how things panned out.

"She can wait" Happy said with an air of finality that not only surprised Lilly but himself as well. It felt good to finally be over the seemingly one sided crush he'd had on the feline since they'd met, but he still held a spot for her in his heart should his present circumstances not work out. He let himself relax at the thought and felt his friend do the same, both cats made their way to the base of the tree where they opted to lie and look out at the stars. Although Lilly's mind was still alight with questions for his newfound partner that he was itching to bring up.

"Happy-" Lilly started once more but was cut off by the cat in question.

"You ask too many questions, Happy purred, which made Lilly's heart flutter in his chest. "Just enjoy the moment." Lilly's jaw flapped closed, unable to argue with his newfound lover's request he let himself sink lower into the base of the tree, his friend wrapped in his arms.

Unbeknownst to the two friend's sharing each other's company under the comfort of the large tree, a magical item that looked suspiciously like a human ear floated several feet above their heads, illuminated in a diaphanous pink glow. Back inside the guild hall, a mirror of that same device is perched precariously atop a windowsill, half of the Fairy Tail guild clustered behind it. Levi had incarnated the item in order to eavesdrop on Happy and Lilly's conversation. But she could hardly keep the thing in place and deal with the trail of tears cascading down her face at the same time. And Levi wasn't the only one affected; everyone who had been keen on eavesdropping on the exceeds conversation had been so overwhelmed with emotion that they had to do all they could to keep themselves composed. The only ones who didn't seem particularly affected were Natsu and Gray, but they watched with just as rapt attention as the rest of the patrons crowded around the window. And their closest friends, having heard everything that was said between the two, felt inclined to back up Happy's assurances to Lilly even though the two felines couldn't hear them.

"You two are family" Natsu quoted solemly to the two exceeds out the window. "We don't turn our backs on family."

"Owning up to your feelings is a man!" Elfman shouted over the muffled sniffling around him, his own eyes threatening to overflow with tears.

"So sad!" Mira and Lisana wailed in unison, crying literal rivers from their eyes.

"The ordeal of love is a long and perilous journey" Erza recited, hands at her hips and tears pricking her eyes. "But one will find a way through any obstacle should they find their soul mate."

"Lilly!" Gajeel shouted theatrically, dancing around the room in a wispy fashion. Gray simply smirked at the scene through the window and everyone else in the guild watched the scene crescendo and resolve with bated breath and watery eyes. Carla who had been standing on the windowsill next to the receiver wiped at her own steadily moistening eyes before turning to the tea she'd left sitting at the table before all the commotion started.

"You better not make me waiting too long" She huffed, sipping her tea indignantly.

**This is blah**


End file.
